Theater Games for the Classroom: A Teacher's Handbook

This CD-ROM offers comprehensive theatre instruction for all types of students, from small children to young adults. It includes 130 theatre games and exercises, instructional strategies, video examples, a lesson planning section and alignment to other circular areas. The instructional strategies section explains how to teach theatre, from how to count off for games, to putting on a complete show. The game file section provides a complete list of the games referenced in a variety of ways, from traditional to advanced games, alphabetically ordered, or by educational standards. The video section contains brief video examples of the games, especially helpful for those who have never played them. There is also a video lecture that provides tips for the beginning teacher.

VIOLA SPOLIN'S work in improvisation, along with her emphasis on play as a fundamental, necessary, natural human activity, have made her a central figure in the development of creative drama. Now, with this new CD-ROM, teachers can see her ideas come to life as children act them out. Since Theater Games for the Classroom: A Teacher's Handbook was designed for the teacher with little or no training in the theater, this CD-ROM enhances the step-by-step approach of Spolin's book. MAX SCHAFER is a distinguished full-time teacher, actor, programmer, and president of Underdog Educational Software company. He studied and worked with Viola Spolin in the 1980s and has worked and studied with Paul Sills for the past two decades. He leads theater workshops around the country promoting the genius of Viola Spolin and Paul Sills, and he teaches fifth grade at Fenton Avenue Charter School. Schafer also publishes Young Authors, a writing program that allows children to write and illustrate over 25 kinds of books. He lives in Hollywood, California.